me so imbedded in the drift, that Lancy was afraid the
shafts would pull apart if the horse put forth sufficient strength to
extract it, so he decided to take the horse out and turn the sleigh
himself. But when the horse found himself free, he refused to stand still,
and Dexie insisted on getting out to hold him. Leading the horse around the
drift to regain the road, Lancy found there was a level stretch extending
in the same direction, and he concluded to follow it and thus regain the
farmhouse. He assisted Dexie through the drifts, and as she held the reins
he endeavored to turn the sleigh. But he had not quite accomplished his
task when a cry from Dexie came through the storm:

"Oh, Lancy! come quick! I cannot hold him, and I hear water running
somewhere! Oh, the horse is in!"

CHAPTER VI.

What new calamity had overtaken them! Their only hope of safety seemed in
the horse, and he had disappeared from sight, leaving only his head showing
above the white mass around him. Lancy was soon at Dexie's side, and
understood the situation at once. The level stretch of snow was but the
covering of a frozen stream that here flowed parallel with the road. He had
led the horse near a weak spot, and the ice had given away beneath him. The
water might not be deep enough to drown him, but Lancy saw at once it would
be impossible to get the horse out without assistance. He helped Dexie back
to the sleigh, saying,

"You and Elsie must cover yourselves up in the sleigh, and wait here till I
walk back to that house for help."

"Oh, Lancy! is there no other way?" Dexie cried, her courage giving way at
the thought of him leaving them. "You will get lost in the storm, and we
will surely freeze to death before help reaches us."

But there seemed no other way out of the difficulty, and he hurriedly
tucked the robes around them, while he tried to quiet Elsie, who was almost
wild with terror when she learned her brother's intention.

"Hush! Elsie, dear. If I stay with you we shall _all_ freeze. You need not
be afraid. I will surely reach the house and send someone to you if I
cannot come back myself. Don't cry, dear. See how bravely Dexie bears it."

"But you are not her brother," she sobbed; "she has only herself to think
of. Oh, what shall we do if you are lost in the storm! How I wish I had
never come!" and she buried her face in the seat before her.

Lancy's heart ached for both of them. Yet to leave them seemed their only